James Harden has played exceptionally well as the Rockets try to hold onto a playoff spot in the difficult Western Conference. / Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

James Harden's head will be on a swivel long before the NBA All-Star Game finally tips off on Sunday.

As the Houston Rockets' lone All-Star and the unofficial host of the festivities that will take place in his team's town, he'll be pulled a few dozen different ways for appearances, interviews, photo-shoots and - last but certainly not least - his job as a coach in the celebrity game on Friday. But considering his young-and-upcoming team is still in need of the sort of talent that will be in ample supply at the event, he'll leave some time for the sort of recruiting effort that is tailor-made for this annual, star-studded scene.

"I'll do a little bit of recruiting during the All-Star break, but my main focus is on just trying to get this team focused on every single game, every practice," Harden, whose team has significant salary cap space that can be used this summer if they don't do a major deal before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday.

"I can't worry about who we want to recruit and things like that. ... For the most part, we're trying to make the playoffs."

They're not alone in that regard.

With a little more than a third of the season remaining after the All-Star break, time is running out for teams to make their respective postseason pushes. The Rockets are among the surging teams in the Western Conference, having entered Sunday's game at the Sacramento Kings with six wins in their past eight games and firmly in playoff position (currently seventh). No one is hotter than the Denver Nuggets, who overcame the sluggish start to their season to win nine of their past 10 games and are in fourth.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (38-12) have thrived even without Harden, as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are having career years and new running mate Kevin Martin is filling Harden's sixth-man role quite well. The San Antonio Spurs are dominating quietly as always, having won 12 of their past 13 to sit atop the conference. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors - who have been the surprise team of the season thus far - have lost four consecutive games to fall to 30-21 and have only a Tuesday game against the Rockets to get back to their winning ways before the break.

As has been the case since the start of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to capture attention no matter how good the third-place Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) prove to be. Yet despite the super-team status that came with acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the summer, the Lakers (24-28) are on the outside looking in even after winning seven of their past 10 games They lost at the Miami Heat 107-97 Sunday.)

The Heat (34-14) imposed their will late against the Lakers â?? a slice of symbolism if ever there was one. They're atop the Eastern Conference despite a relatively slow start and a defensive decline that only recently appears to have fixed, winners of 10 of their past 12 games. They're currently slated to face in the first round the Milwaukee Bucks (25-24), who have a three-game lead on the Philadelphia 76ers for the eighth and final spot. As unpredictable plots go, no team has been more puzzling than the Boston Celtics. After losing point guard Rajon Rondo to a season-ending knee ligament tear on Jan. 28, they have won seven in a row after a triple-overtime win over the Nuggets on Sunday night.

As shocking story lines go, though, none was more sudden than Oklahoma City's decision to trade Harden to Houston in late October. And now that his new team looks primed to be in the playoffs for years to come, he's hoping to have a few free agency conversations this week that could help with that cause.

But while free-agents-to-be Dwight Howard of the Lakers, Andrew Bynum of the 76ers and Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks could be coming his way, Harden said he doesn't have a specific player in mind on top of his personal priority list.

"I don't because if I did have a guy (like that), I'd be texting him every single day," Harden said.

Specifically, Harden said he has no relationship with Howard.

"Like I said, if I did, I'd be texting him every single day," he said. "Dwight, (Clippers free agent-to-be) Chris Paul, Bynum, all of them."